Eden getting better.
Hodgson is aging hence the move for a quick fix with Charlie.
Gleeson too long on sidelines but starting to make decent impression.
Welham as above.
Brown defence left exposed because team not defending as a unit.
Burns has pure passion but needs to reign it in a little.
Keating we can only hope is any good.
Weyman looks great but will he settle.
Hodgson J had a great 2012
Mika if he stays has improved.
Lovegrove had a great 2012
Cox had a great 2012
Costigan looks promising

Do you mean 2013?

Neither will you if your no1 prop is missing for the first few weeks of the season

Doh!

Few weeks? How will we cope?

Are you trying to find a loophole in the non fed rules for mika?

Ok I'm actually been generous there

Coped fine on Friday with 4 props under 23.

If we dont maybe we could borrow Sandys list of excuses, he seems to have gone for a record number of excuses in the HDM today, it's Ok though he promises it will be better next year.

Some very opposite opinions on this one and to be honest we all know it will more than likely fall somewhere in between the 2 and we’;; be fighting it out for 8th as seems the norm at the moment.

Dobbo going is a hard one, I kind of agree with both points of view, yes you don’t get rid of a good half back to improve a poor team and we need someone to step up and lead the team around. The one thing I’ll caveat that with is that we got too reliant on MD to the point where everything went through him, yes good teams have a half back leader but they also have other options, we didn’t or if we did we rarely used them. Any decent team knew this and snubbed it out. We may be in a position next year having realised we have lost the best thing we ever but ultimately it wasn’t our decision and the club have done all they can by quickly securing a replacement with a decent pedigree.

Lovegrove is an odd one to call, yes he seems to be a fans favourite but also does give us a lot of go forward and seems to give his all, the flip side of a Patterson who just seemed uninterested and not willing to put in the hard work. Very reminiscent of Clinton, all the ability no application or heart.

Suppose one thing is for certain we’ll be different next year, and for that at least I’m looking forward to it, can’t say I have been for the last couple of years.

Don't worry they'll be Brain dead by 10 o'clock on Thursday, Gentles excuses are like his play book, lacking in imagination. Still I bet they'll train well

It'd have to be a flat out rule change rather than a loophole. Past experience would suggest that that isn't something that can be ruled out altogether though.



Yeah, I think the change in style and type of player we've got in (less spectacular, bit more solid or hard nosed hopefully) will change the character of the team. I'm not anticipating us leaping up the table, but perhaps our problems will be different and there won't be that feeling of same old, same old when we lose. Or not so often at least.

Tbf though, even having accepted that we've plateaued or hit a glass ceiling now, I still think there's plenty to enjoy. Good sprinkling of rubbish mixed in too, but it is the same for most clubs and their fans.

I've very rarley seen excuses from Gentle, unlike Sandy which is just about everytime you lose.

Gentle starts every interview with "look, I'm not going to make excuses, but..."

He has decided to move on

That's not fair at all. He also regularly opens with 'We're not going to blame...'

There's no so blind as those that will not see!

Is this yours:

Last two comments from Gentle for defeats against Saints and Wigan:

"We gave them a massive leg-up. We were our own worst enemy and we lacked composure. We were up against a really good side there and we gifted them 22 points in the first half.

"We will have to address our errors and we will address it. The skill level at times was appalling. To come in at half-time 22 points down was extremely disappointing.

"We started the second half well and had a lot of pressure down their end but then we seemed to panic again."

It's a bitter pill to come here and play like that on the big stage.

"I was relieved to go in only 6-0 down at half-time thinking that we couldn't play any worse in the second half, but the boys proved me wrong.

"We play Wigan again in the league next Friday night and we'll have to use the same game plan again, as the one we had planned certainly didn't get used today.

"Wigan handled the conditions better than we did. We just had too much of a tendency to panic."

Not oncee mention of refs and injuries, feel free to point be to the many excuses Gentle makes when we lost, I am not saying he hasnt done it, but very rarley and rightly talks about the performance of his own team.

Sandercock isn't the most media-friendly coach. He returns to the same points too often and irrespective of them being accurate (IMO) it gets a bit wearisome. On the other hand, his being so downbeat means expectations are managed and the club seems to be keen for the fans to be realistic, so it isn't a bad fit.
Gentle is a bit more constrained in what he can complain about, because Pearson has wanted an enthused and optimistic fanbase based on a perception of heavy investment in the team.
Hudgell probably wouldn't mind too much CS mentioning that he doesn't have a huge coaching staff to support him or that he hasn't spent very big in the transfer market. For PG that'd be 'off-message'.

To be fair, you lot must be happy to stave off administration for another 12 months. Each year you can mince along to CP, shout Forward, drool at the refs etc must be a bonus.

Good on you

You might mince, I stride out in a manly purposeful manner.

As others have said, i also believe the time was right for Dobbo to go, we had become a little predictable...

my expectations for next year are either 8th or 9th based on current recruitment as we will still have a very light squad when it comes to depth so a couple of injuries like this year will cripple us again.we are not a mega rich team that can attract the stars of the game and for that reason i remain realistic of our aims...

as for charlie coming back...imo he should be nowhere near the club... it sends out the wrong message.
Unless we address the lack of depth, then we will struggle again...
certainly cannot see us doing anything in the cup again as it is simply a jump too far, we simply are not good enough to get their.

Im a bit worried tbh. I cant see much improvement in terms of games won or climbing the league table, however if the squad settles there may be positives for the future beyond next season. As well as the further development of our younger players, cant wait to see Eden progress and Cox has started to show he could really make it.

The reason I worry is because our defense has to be the focus to improve, from individual tackling/positioning and maybe the structure I dont know. But with that and the fact our attack structure is going to change with Keating bringing a different style to Dobbo, its a lot of work to do.

The best I think we can hope for, with injury luck and a bit elsewhere is to finish 6th, home playoff. Worst case we miss out and finish 9th/10th.. Anyone else feel that this kind of season is 'it' and struggle to see how we are going to break out of the mid table group? I realise with financial restraints etc we do well and im not criticising.

What financial restraints , your less than 100k under the cap ?